Change
by xxxVampy-chanxxx
Summary: Rachel was a same thing every day kind of girl. What happens when her secret, the one that's kept her in the dark and alone for so long, gets exposed. All of a sudden the Avengers have to keep her safe from the government because of her past. Maybe a change of pace could be good for Rachel or terribly wrong. Set after the movie.
1. Pants

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers it all belongs to Marvel!**

I was hiding in the shadows. Again. Waiting to be rescued, for someone to just come and carry me out of them. I couldn't take this much longer before I would break, but I knew I wouldn't be saved anytime soon. I would be waiting forever in the shadows. I could feel the arms of the shadows constricting around me.

I sat up in my bed panting, holding onto the covers. I tried to blink away the tears that were coming to my eyes. I felt the bile coming to my throat, so I quickly threw my covers off of me and moved to the bathroom. Throwing up in the toilet was never an enjoyable thing, I had always thought, and now I was certain it was horrible. I slowly sank to the floor in exhaustion.

"I hate throwing up!" I groaned out loud. I put a hand to my head and felt a fever, "great." Standing up, I opened the medicine cabinet. Grabbing the medication, I took two of the blue pills and swallowed them with water. Moving out of the bathroom and into my bedroom, I stripped off my sweaty clothes. While changing into a tank top and shorts I could feel my body already begin to cool. Sighing in pleasure, I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed ice cream. Chocolate ice cream! Nothing could heal a fever like chocolate ice cream. Taking a scoop of the heavenly sweet cream, I moaned at the sweetness. Before I could take another scoop, I felt something spark in my hand. I looked down just in time to see electricity surge through my hands, melt the ice cream, and fry the carton. Gasping, I dropped the burnt carton and moved away from it as if it had bitten me. I put my hands on my head and fell to my knees and let tears escape my eyes.

"Why?" I asked to no one in particular. All that greeted me was the crackling of my fingertips.

That day I woke up on the couch feeling much better. I rolled off of it and made my way to my bedroom. After putting on a black pencil skirt and a white blouse, I started to do my makeup, putting on the usual heavy black makeup. I completed my look with a necklace with a sliver rose and vines. Stepping into a pair of black stilettos, I grabbed my purse, and clicked my way towards the door of my apartment. Locking up behind me, I made my way to work traveling the same route I have traveled every day for the past year. Walking to work was my means of travel because one it was cheap and two it kept me in shape. Making my way through the busy streets of Boston, I neared my work after nine blocks of walking. I stopped in front of the tall building and stared up at its glass windows. It looked like a looming figure. I sighed and made my way into the beast's mouth, stopping to greet the doorman, and then making my way across the dark granite floor to the elevator. The elevator opened to reveal attractive men and women in suits, skirts, and shirts. I squeezed in, standing next to a tall, black man, and pressed the number thirteen on the pad in front of me. When the elevator reached its destination on floor thirteen I stepped off. Finding my dark wood desk, I sat down, and was ready to begin my long day of work.

"Rachel, have you schedule my dinner tonight with Mr. Sasaki?" A deep voice asked me, breaking my train of thought. I looked up to see my boss, the chief of the company. He was a very tall and handsome man with dark hair and blue eyes. Nodding, I looked down at my organizer.

"Six o'clock at the Del Frisco's." I told him looking up from my organizer and meeting his eyes. He smiled, nodded at me, and made his way back into his office. Sighing, I glanced around the office and was about to stand up when a crash resounded throughout the office. I turned around just in time to see a huge monster bursting through the window. The monster was a flesh colored monster with bulging muscles. It had piercing red eyes and its hands were clenched into fists, ready to smash something. Screams were all I could hear as I stared into the beast's eyes. When it gave a roar I jumped, turned, and ran. I couldn't get far before I was tackled to the ground. I screamed and kicked at the monster. The monster was about to smash his fist down on my head when I put my hands up in front of my face to shield myself. A lightning bolt shot out of my hand and into the monster's gut launching the monster back out the window and down thirteen floors. I laid there panting, feeling my heart pumping a hundred times a second, and my hands tingling. Slowly, I sat up and looked around to see everyone's shocked faces. Before I could say something to defend myself, the monster was back in the office, and grabbing me by the leg. I was hurled out the window and screamed as I fell. I never thought about how I was going to die, but apparently it was going to be this way. I felt my body hit a metal plate and for a second I thought that was my death before I heard a voice.

"Come on, I don't bite." The voice said in a teasing manner. I opened my eyes to see I was in the arms of the one and only armored hero, Iron Man. I stared at the iron mask of the man, but then looked down only to see that we were six stories up. I screamed and held onto the man tighter and he laughed; "Now that's more like it." The monster, that hadn't been on my mind for a minute or two, was suddenly jumping towards us. Iron Man flew us out of the way and towards another building. Descending onto the building, he dropped me off, and gave me a two finger salute before flying off. Now looking down into the street below the building, I could see all the Avengers fighting the monster, including the similar looking Hulk. Why did they look so alike? The Black Widow was firing shots at the beast when it attacked her. It held her by the throat when everything seemed to stop. I stood there watching. She was slowly turning blue, if the Avengers tried to interfere the monster would just break her neck. I took off my shoes and stepped my way up to the ledge. I never like watching people die. I wasn't about to let one of the Avengers die. Feeling sparks rush through hands, I leapt off the building. The monster quickly came into my view as I fell towards him as I did I shot a lightning bolt out of my hand and hit the monster. The lightning was so powerful it created a big crater under the beast. Luckily, the impact of my lightning caused my fall to slow down, so when I hit the ground I'm sure I only broke a couple ribs. I didn't even bother moving, I just let the darkness take me again. When I awoke I was in a room that looked like a hospital. I was staring at the table of scary looking utensils when I heard the door opened. I turned my head to look at an intimidating, black man with an eye patch. He was dress head to toe in black and wore a nice scowl to greet me.

"Yes?" I asked, not knowing why he was here if he looked so unpleased to see me. He shook his head and made his was towards the chair, sitting right next to my bed. When he sat, I sat up feeling uncomfortable if I was laying down, but once I sat up I winced.

"Careful now," the man told me before checking his watch. He looked up at me again and then held out a hand for me to shake, "Rachel Grimes, it's a pleasure to meet you." I raised an eyebrow at him before taking the handshake, "My name's Nick Fury and right now you're on an S.H.I.E.L.D. ship. "

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" I asked, confused. Shield, what was that a funny secret organization? Was I with the mafia? Was there drugs pumping through my system? Was I going to become a sex slave? A million thoughts raced through my head.

"Yes." Nick said, nodding as if I would understand the situation I was in. When he saw my blank stare he started to explain, "The organization that founded the Avengers."

"Ah, the Avengers, so what do you want with me?" I asked, already fearing the answer. I knew what they had seen; it was only a matter of time before I was found out.

"That was a pretty impressive thing you did back there." Nick said instead of answering my question. I scowled.

"I wouldn't call it that impressive." I said and looked towards the door. I just need an exit and I would be able to fight my way out of here. Hopefully. Sometimes my condition didn't always agree with me.

"Well, jumping off a building to save one of the Avengers. That's a pretty impressive thing, for you to survive and to take out that monster with one blow of lightning…" Nick trailed off looking into my eyes. My eyes darted from his to the door.

"I'm going to be needing your pants, sir." I said throwing off my covers.

"Wha…" Before he could say anything, I jumped up, and place my hands on his shoulders and ran electricity through him. He jolted. Spasming, his eyes rolled back into head and slumped into his seat. Crouching down, I unbuckled his belt and pulled his pants off. Pulling on the large pants, I moved towards the door, and opened it. I looked down the hall to the right and found nurses. When there was an opportunity to run, I took it. I ran down the hall, to the left, making my way down the steel corridor. I turned left at a corner and bumped into someone. We fell in a heap of limbs. I looked up to meet a pair of chocolate brown eyes. I found myself getting lost in them until I realized where I was. Putting my hands on the chest of the person, lightning shot out of them, and sent the he/she flying. They hit the nearby wall and crumpled to the ground. I jumped up and began running again. It wasn't until I was in the fourth corridor when the Black Widow and Hawkeye came running around the other corner. Hawkeye drew an arrow and Black Widow drew her gun. I slowly put up my hands in surrender. I knew I could do more with my power, and felt the exhaustion creeping up on me. And I knew my powers weren't always agreeable with me, so trying to fight these guys would probably just get me killed. They lowered their weapons and looked at me with confused eyes.

"Did you steal someone's pants?" Hawkeye asked, looking at me with bewildered eyes. I nodded and pulled the pants up. Even though I was wearing a belt, the pants still fell down to some degree.

"Nick Fury's." I told them. Their mouths dropped open in shock and Hawkeye started laughing until Black Widow smacked him on the arm.

"That's so funny! Wait till Tony hears and sees you! Wait, where's Fury?" Hawkeye asked, looking at me with a serious expression.

"I knocked him out in my room." I replied pointing down the hallway I had just come from. They again had shock faces, but recovered. They nodded and made their way towards me. I tensed, but they seemed to notice this.

"We're not going to hurt you." Hawkeye said trying to assure me of my safeness. I nodded slowly, but followed them back to my room. As we were walking down one of the hallways we saw the crumpled figure of a man. I admittedly knew the man as the one of who I had bumped into. They gasped and ran to the man, sitting the man up, and patting him on the cheek. The man slowly came to the world. His brown eyes opened and met Black Widow's.

"Wha…" He slurred and grabbed his head. He looked around and finally his eyes landed on me, "You?" He questioned as Black Widow and Hawkeye helped him stand.

"Yes, I apologized for doing that, but I needed to get away." I said making my way over to them. I looked at him before looking at the ground, "I needed to get away." I repeated. Black Widow and Hawkeye begin to inform the man of what had happen and where we were going. The man's eyes found me again and we stared at each other until I broke the stare, "Well, let's go and find Nick." When all I received was confused stares I elaborated, "Nick Fury." Light bulbs seemed to go off inside their heads. Finally reaching my room we found Nick Fury standing there in boxers. He seemed anger at first, but when he saw my frightened expression his anger lessened.

"I see my pants are being used well." Nick said the corners of his lips quirking up a little. It wasn't a smile, but it was close enough. I smiled and nodded.

"Yessir."

"How about we talked this over some coffee, but that's after I get some pants."


	2. Surprises

**Chapter 2 of Change. **

In my life, I've been known to be the girl that does the same thing every day or has a routine for everything, like eating the same lunch every day for the past two years—chicken sandwich, yogurt, and chips or having a bath routine. Wash hair first which means shampoo then conditioner, wash face, shave if needed, and then lastly wash my body away of dirt and sweat. Call me crazy, but I lived by these rituals every day. Now, though, was definitely not part of my schedule. Looking at the table of people around me, I couldn't help but squirm in my seat. I was sitting at a table with Hawkeye, the Black Widow, Nick Fury (who was apparently the founder of the Avengers), and some other man I didn't know. I looked down at the table when suddenly a cup of coffee was in front of my line of vision.

"Here. It can get a little drafty in here and you're wearing a gown. Soon, we'll get you some clothes," Nick said as he passed me the coffee. I nodded in thanks, but said nothing else. The table lapsed into another silence, but I guess Nick wasn't going to let it last that long because he spoke up again. "How are you feeling?"

I glanced up at him, then down at my coffee, and spoke softly to the lid of the coffee cup.

"Fine, still sore though." I said, rubbing my ribs gently through my gown. I still flinched in pain and pulled my hand away.

"Yeah, I would think so," Nick told me, looking at me from over his coffee cup. I could feel this conversation heading in the direction I didn't want it to, but it still happened. "You did fall from an eight story building, survived, and you healed incredible fast."

I flinched, my body slowly enclosing itself into a ball.

"Yes…" I whispered, feeling tears threatening to pour from my eyes. I let my black hair cover my face.

"It's alright, Rachel." I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Hawkeye's voice.

"It's not!" I shouted while looking up at him through my tear lidded eyes. He seemed shocked by my outburst and so did everyone else. I let tears run from my blue-gray eyes, but screwed them up in embarrassment. "You don't understand. I'm not safe."

"What?" Nick asked, clearly not understanding what I meant. I let out a shaky breath. I had never told people this unless they were close to me.

"I'm a danger to me and the people around me. I have no control of my powers." I told them, holding the coffee cup in a vice grip. Suddenly, I opened my eyes and I knew they were glowing the same eerie white they had before. I watched as Nick and Black Widow jumped out of their seats and pulled their guns. The other man had jumped up, too and was standing there watching me. "I could hurt many people," I whispered and blinked my eyes. Suddenly, I heard voices coming from the hall outside the cafeteria. In walked Tony Stark, billionaire and playboy, a man of amazing height with long beautiful blonde hair, a short man with short blonde hair, and a shorter man wearing a suit. They spotted me and suddenly went into battle mode.

"Wait!" Nick said, holding up his hands and getting in between the crossfire (or, soon to be crossfire), "it's alright." Slowly, all of the soldiers stood down. Which confused me…why was Tony Stark being a soldier? I slowly blinked my eyes until the glowing dimmed.

"That is so weird," Tony whispered, but it was loud enough for me to hear. Everyone shot him glares.

"What?" I laughed.

"Yes, it's weird, isn't it?" I put my hands by my sides and slowly electricity started to run through them, "I hate it." Everyone stared at my hands in amazement.

"How did you get them?" Black Widow asked. I think this was the first time she was speaking to me since I met her. I sighed and felt the weight of stress I was carrying getting heavier.

"As a child I was involved in a radiation accident. It killed my family, but I was the only one to survive. The government was the ones who finance it. " I whispered. I thought back to the horrible day when the government had asked my family to be a part of an experiment. That day when we were placed in that chamber and the countdown began. The screams…how terrible they were. I shivered and let tears slip through my eyes.

"What! I've never heard of that!" Nick shouted, angrily pounding his fist on the table. "How could they do that to anyone?!"

"Well, it happened!" I screamed at the man while my hands sparked. "It killed everyone except me! Why? I don't know, but now I'm stuck with the memories and the curse. They even thought I was died, that's how I got away, they buried me alive and I escaped." A silence settled over all us, "they were trying to create something."

"Like what?" Tony asked, looking at him I answered.

"Like an army of super powered freaks." I answered back. I knew they had called it Project LM. The L standing for lightning and M standing for mutant, I had saw the signs for it in the labs before I had been put in the machine.

"Why would they do that to an innocent family?" Hawkeye questioned.

"It's because my father was one of the scientists working on the project and he felt for the "good of science" we should do it." I said.

"That's murder!" Tony exclaimed. I nodded and grabbed my coffee and took a sip.

"Yes my father wasn't one of the best fathers out there…he wasn't always there, but when he was I still loved him." Nick looked at me with intense eyes and stood as straight as a rod.

"Rachel, have you ever tried to control your powers?" Nick asked. I nodded and sadly looked at the ground as if the ground would hold my answer.

"I've tried, but so far with no success." I whispered, shuffling my feet, and letting tears escape my eyes.

"I can help you." A voice suddenly said making me look up. It was the man I had bumped into and electrocuted. I knew I had a shock expression because I could feel that my eyes were wide opened.

"What?" I asked looking at the man. The man nodded and stepped forward.

"You can use some of my medicines and with some tests we can learn more about your powers." The man told me as he looked at the others for help, "Tony you can help me too."

"Um, who exactly are you?" I asked looking at the man with leveled eyes. If anyone was going to do experiments on me it better be someone who I knew was capable.

"Rachel, this is Bruce Banner and his works in radiation are unparalleled." Nick informed me, I felt a tingle go off inside me, "he could help you if you allowed it."

_Radiation? Could he help me?_

I looked at the people around me, "please help me." I whispered laughing bitterly, "I can't take this much longer." I could feel exhaustion getting to me and I finally gave in. My body started to fall, but I felt a pair of arms wrapped around me. I looked up to see the familiar brown eyes only to then black out. When I awoke I was in another room, a less scary room, and had clothes waiting on the chair right next to me. To my liking all the clothes were black. A black turtle neck, pair of black slacks, black panties which were mine and they seemed washed and my black lace bra. I really didn't like the slacks I preferred skinny jeans, but they would have to do. I struggled into the clothes because I was a little bigger than in the hips and breast, but when the clothes were on they didn't look too bad. All I could say it was better than wearing that stupid hospital gown. Walking out of the room I found myself, yet again, in another steel corridor. Picking left as the way to walk I made my way down the hall. It didn't take me long before I found a lab with all the Avengers in there. Well I assumed so. Now that I thought of it maybe Bruce Banner was the Hulk. It did make sense, he was a scientist in radiation, and the Hulk was a radiation accident. I walked up to the door, knock, and waited for someone to come open the door. The door opened to reveal Tony smiling like a goof ball.

"Rachel, it's so nice of you to join us!" He said pulling me into the room. I stumbled a bit, but recovered. I couldn't help, but laugh at Tony's energy. It was so different than seeing him on T.V. or in the newspapers all cool and collected. He smiled more when he heard me laugh and clapped his hands together, "so we were just discussing who you want to accompany you back to your house."

"Why would I need someone to accompany me back to my apartment?" I asked confused, couldn't I just get let off at my apartment and come back.

"It's because you're on the news. The government now knows there's someone out there like their experiment, they just don't know if it's you and not a new Avenger. We need to keep you safe and hidden." Nick told me. For a moment I thought and then I agreed.

"Oh, and sir, what should I call you?" I asked of Nick as he started to talk to Black Widow. He eyes found mine again.

"You can call me Fury." He told me and went back to talking to Black Widow. I nodded and turned to Hawkeye.

"Want to escort me, like a gentlemen, to my apartment?" I asked pointing my thumb at the door. He smiled and bowed.

"It would be my pleasure ma'am." Hawkeye said smirking. I rolled my eyes, but when I heard a whine of disappointment I turned my head in the direction of Tony Stark.

"I wanted to escort her!" He said pouting and crossing his arms. I actually laughed, walked over to him, and looked up into his green eyes. They were beautiful, but not as beautiful as someone else's.

"Next time I promise." I told him smiling and holding out a hand. His face lit up, he took my hand, and shook it vigorously.

"Yes, defiantly next time." He said. I nodded and followed Hawkeye out of the room. It didn't take us long before we were standing on top of the ship and when I say top I mean outside. I had an amazing view of New York from here and it's large skyscrapers, but it didn't take me long for me to feel scared of the height we were about the water. Hawkeye led us over to a helicopter when I stopped in my tracks.

"Wait we're going in that?" I asked pointing to the flying machine.

"Well we can't exactly land this huge ship on your building now can we?" Hawkeye asked smiling. I smiled, shook my head, and excitedly got in the helicopter.

"Ready?" Hawkeye asked when I was all settled in my sit. I nodded and Hawkeye gave a nod towards the driver of the helicopter. The helicopter started to slowly lift off the ground and into the air with the grace of a bird. The whole time I was looking out the window on the trip back to Boston. I couldn't help it and when Hawkeye asked me stuff about friends and my family I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the window. I giggled when the birds were flying right next to the helicopter.

"So what was it like?"

"What was what like?" I asked still not taking my eyes away from the window and really not paying attention.

"The experiment..?" He whispered hoping I wouldn't hear, but after the incident my hearing was much greater than that of the regular human. I slowly tore my eyes away from the window and looked at him.

"It was the saddest, excruciating thing in my entire life." I answered holding back tears. I never like to think of it because it always made me cry and I didn't like to cry. Crying showed weakness and I was not weak.

"Let's not talk about it." He said ending the conversation. I looked out the window again, but it didn't have the same effect on me as it did before. Soon we arrived on the top on my apartment building complex. I live on the seventh floor and there were only eight floors so it didn't take long to reach my room. Instead of reaching under the welcome mat like a stereotypical place for a key would be. I ran my fingers under the rail of the stairs until I found the extra key to my apartment taped there, taking it I opened the door.

"Now I'm warning you now if it's a little mes…" Before I could finish my sentence the lights flipped on and cracks were heard. Suddenly, confetti was flying into my face.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Two voices yelled surprising me.

**Please review? c:**


	3. Thank You

**Chapter 3 of Change! **

"Surprise! Happy birthday!" The shouts surprised me, making me jump. In the now bright room stood two girls. One girl was tall with giant curls and blue-green eyes. She wore a simple band t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. The other girl was darker skinned and wore a pair of purple skinny jeans, a black tank top, and a black lace top over the tank top. I stood there with my mouth wide open and mulling over the fact that Kianna, one of my best friends, was wearing my shirt.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked recovering. They laughed and the tall girl walked over to the counter to pull a cake off of it. She smiled at me and held the cake out.

"It's your birthday! You forgot again?" Adrienne, my other best friend, asked laughing. I looked at her then glanced at the calendar hanging in the kitchen, it said November 23.

"Oh." I finally said remembering that today was indeed my birthday. I smiled and made my way over to them, "Thanks for always remembering."

"Well, if we don't, who is?" Kianna said smiling. She then glanced over my shoulder, looking at Hawkeye. Her eyes widen in shock, "Uh, Rachel, why is Hawkeye standing in your apartment?" Kianna asked and I smiled sheepishly.

"That is a long story." I said. I launched into story of what had happened so far over tea and cake. At the part where I stole Fury's pants, Adrienne busted out into laughter.

"You stole his pants!" She asked wiping her eyes, "Ah, that's amazing."

"Yes, yes, I stole his pants, but I didn't want to go around running with my butt hanging out," I told them smiling.

"I'm sure some men wouldn't have minded." Hawkeye chose this moment to speak up and I blushed at his remark. I couldn't even imagine me running around naked, it was too crazy! Adrienne laughed at Hawkeye's comment and he smirked back at her. I knew Adrienne had always had a crush on Hawkeye.

"Rac…"

If only I could get them together. Hawkeye was a good guy and Adrienne, well, Adrienne was Adrienne.

"Rache…"

Now how would I do it?

"Rachel!" I snapped out of my thoughts to see everyone looking worriedly at me. I laughed and rubbed the back of my head.

"Sorry, I was blanking out." I said answering their questions. They all sighed at me, "What?!" I asked. Adrienne and Kianna laughed while Hawkeye shook his head and smiled.

"Well, we should be going soon. Director Fury won't want us out too long." He said standing up and stretching. We all watched as his muscles flexed and rippled. Adrienne started to fan herself with her hand, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh no! Everything's pitch perfect!" Adrienne squeaked causing me and Kianna to laugh. He gave a nod and made his way towards the door.

"I'll be waiting on the roof, Rachel." He said as he disappeared through the door. Once the door was shut we all broke out into fits of giggles.

"Did you see those muscles!?" Adrienne asked while, literally, drooling on my table. I laughed and nodded my head, "His muscles had muscles!" Kianna nodded, quietly sitting back and sipping on her tea.

"Well, guys I have to going." I said my smiling dropping from my face. Their smiles faltered too and we all stepped into a group hug, "I'll see you soon and I'm sure they'll let me contact you guys."

"They better or they're in for an ass whopping." Adrienne said smirking. I smiled and hugged her tighter.

"Be careful." Kianna whispered into my ear. I nodded, stepped away, and made my way towards my room. Grabbing my large, black suitcase I started to load up all my stuff. Soon my clothes, bathroom supplies, shoes, everything was in my suitcase. Walking out into the living room again, I found Adrienne and Kianna gone. I smiled; I and they knew that if they had stayed any longer they would have been asking me to stay. When I reached the roof the helicopter was already preparing to take off. It whipped my hair tossing it around until I ate it. I made my way towards the helicopter, ducking my head even though I knew the propellers wouldn't hit me. Sitting in the machine, I waited for it to take off. It wasn't long before we were in the air again and off towards New York. When I was awoken by Hawkeye nudging me I had a splitting headache, but I didn't pay it much attention. I was just excited to be getting the help I needed. Putting a little hop in my step, Hawkeye and I made our way towards the inside of the ship. It didn't take long to reach the same lab we were in before. The only people in the lab were Tony and Bruce and they were working away. They would only talk to each other in mumbles and glanced at each other when needed. When Tony spotted me he smiled and shouted my name with happiness.

"Rachel!" I smiled and walked over to him, "We were just discussing the possibility of making medicine out of your blood." When he saw my confused looked he clarified, "We need some blood samples to make a medicine that should be able to help you control your powers." I smiled and hugged him. Tony laughed at my forwardness and patted my back.

"Thank you!" I said holding back the tears that were threatening to fall, "thank you so much!" Tony smiled and waved his hand towards Bruce, "Don't thank me, thank Bruce. He's the one who thought of it." I looked at the man with light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He smiled sheepishly and scuffled his feet.

"I just used the same idea that I did on me on you." He told me in a whisper. I picked up on that and nodded slowly. A smiled broke out onto my face.

"Thank you very much." I said sincerely.

"Well, we should be getting you to your new room." Hawkeye said breaking into the conversation. I nodded and moved to follow him, but not before waving to the two men. `I followed the man out of the lab and into the maze of halls, making sure to watch where I was going this time. After some time, we arrived at a metal door that was standing right next to another, "this is your room. It's right next to Bruce's."

"Si." I told him before pressing the button besides the door. The door whooshed open to reveal my room. It was medium sized room with a bed in the upper left corner, a desk in the top right, a closet, and a bureau. I walked into the room and stood in the middle, turning to drink in the sight of everything. I smiled, looked at Hawkeye, and opened my mouth to speak when there were blaring alarms. Flickering bright red lights went along with the alarms and made me dizzy.

"Sorry! I have to go!" Hawkeye ran out of the room and disappeared down the hall. When I thought the alarms would never stop they finally stopped. I sat down on my bed and look down at my suitcase that was sitting up where Hawkeye had left it. I grabbed it and opened it to looked at the top of suitcase. There, sitting on top of my clothes, was my journal. It was thick, from all the things I had put inside of it, with a black cover. I smiled as I picked it up and held it close to my chest.

"Uh, excuse me?" Bruce's voice broke my revere and made me snapped my head over to the doorway. He stood there scratching his head and looking at his feet. I blushed and put down my journal, shut my suitcase over it, and cleared my throat.

"Yes." I asked smiling at him. He quirked his lips up at me and waved his hand towards the door.

"I'm to watch you while everyone is gone." Bruce told me. I nodded and moved towards the doorway.

"Very well, show the way." I said sliding pass Bruce and into the hallway. I followed him around like a puppy following its mother. After an hour or two of touring we finally arrived at the cafeteria. I could smell the aroma of coffee and food and it was doing its toll of me. Bruce seemed to notice my salivating and laughed.

"Do you want some food?" He asked. I smiled, walked over to where the counter was, and grabbed a plate. I loaded my plate up with food and so did Bruce. Soon we found ourselves sitting down at one of the small tables eating quietly. After a while, when I deemed my stomach full enough, I spoke up.

"So…do you come here often?" I asked awkwardly. He looked up from his food and quirked his lips up in a smile.

"No I don't, I usually eat in the lab." He told me as he played with his food, "too many people around here."

"You don't like crowds?" I asked taking a sip of my coke.

"It's more like they don't like me…but yes I also don't like them." He told me as he finished his food. I nodded and finished my food quickly, so Bruce could escort me back to my room. Once there I said goodnight and climb into bed. Not bothering to take off my clothes, I went to bed sleeping like a log.

**Please review! I like reviews. **


	4. Blood

**Chapter 4 of Change.**

After finishing our meals Bruce decided to take me back to the lab to take some of my blood.

"Why?" I asked as I matched step with him.

"I want to see the similarities and differences between our bloods." He told me as entered the pass code into the computer so the door would open. Once it did, he walked in, and was admittedly in his element. He started to get his supplies together and set them up. I stood there feeling my nervousness and anxiety build. I hated needles. I could never do drugs. I remember as a child that my blood was like molasses and would never come out. My arms would end up having bruises on them once the doctor was done and I would end up crying.

"Rachel? Are you okay?" Bruce's voice broke through my thoughts and made me jump.

"Peachy!" I said, my voice an octave higher.

"Good." He motioned for me to come over to the table. I did as I was commanded and laid down on the cool surface. I closed my eyes and felt my breath coming out in short pants.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked me again.

"I hate needles." I finally admitted.

"Well, I can hardly tell because you didn't even flinch when I put it in." Bruce said smiling softly at me. I gasped as I, indeed, felt the small amount pressure on my arm. I looked down and admittedly regretted it because I saw the needle in my arm. I turned my head back to the ceiling and closed my eyes.

"Wow. You're good." I told him as I felt my stomach slowly un-knot.

"Years of practice." He replied. I could hear the smile in his voice. I smiled and laughed.

"Well you can give yourself props for getting blood out of this girl. As a child doctors had so much trouble finding my veins, drawing my blood, and not making me cry."

"Well, thank you."

"You're welcome." I felt a slight pressure as he removed the needle but other than that nothing else.

"The band aids on so you can sit up," he said gently. I nodded and sat up, but once I did I felt dizzy and began to fall off the table. With fast reflexes Bruce caught me and held me close to his body. "Are you okay?!"

"Just dizzy, that's all." I responded, feeling my head spinning, but also my heart beat rising.

"I'll get you some juice." He told me as he led me over to a chair. He helped me sit down and then darted out of the room. I put a hand on my hot head, watching as the room spun. I closed my eyes and waited. I heard the familiar sound of the door being opened and smelt Bruce cologne. A wooden smell with a certain musk. I opened my eyes to the spinning and multiple Bruce's.

"Here. Drink this." He said handing me a plastic cup filled with red liquid. I reached for it, and when he noticed I was having trouble, he placed it in my hands.

"Thank you." I told him before taking a gulp of the red liquid which was cranberry juice. I felt better after my third gulp and the room started to stop spinning and there was only one Bruce. "How much blood did you take?"

"Not that much. You must have anemia." He said observing me closely.

"Yeah, the doctors might have mentioned that once or twice. I just chose to ignore them." I said finishing my drink.

"What! Do you know the risk factors of untreated anemia?" Bruce said looking at me as if I were a child.

"I know, I know, I'll just start taking iron pills." I said, slowly standing up and balancing on my own two feet as if I were a toddler taking its first steps.

"Yes, that, and you'll be eating a healthy diet of more iron," he said sternly, "which means greens and meats."

"I love the meat part, but I hate greens!" I told him, pouting.

"Well, you're going to have to suck it up." He said, smiling at me. I pouted and was about to retort when the door opened. In walked Mr. Tony Stark like he owned the place and not far behind him were the rest of the Avengers.

"I'm home, honey!" Tony shouted throwing his hands into the air. I laughed.

"How was your mission?" Bruce asked, looking at Tony. Tony flopped down on the chair behind me and looked up at me.

"Nice ass." He observed looking at me, but the directing his attention to Bruce. I blushed and turned around so he couldn't look at my so-called 'nice ass' anymore.

"It was another one of those Hulk copies." Tony said. Bruce looked grim as Tony said this and the room was deathly silent. "Once, he was so exhausted, he transformed back, and died just like the other one. Poor guy."

"What I want to know is how they are making them without gamma radiation like me." Bruce said stroking his chin and deep in thought.

"Yes, that is the question." Natasha said putting her gun in her gun holster. "Next time, we can't exhaust the monster. We have to think of containment."

"Well, I think a-well-deserved shower and dinner is in order!" Tony said, jumping up and walking out of the lab.

"Is he always like that?" I asked no one is particular.

"Yes!" Everyone said back to me making me jumped. I laughed at their forwardness.

"Well, I think I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight!" I told them as I move towards the door to the lab.

"Just to let you know you have training tomorrow." Hawkeye said, looking at me. When he saw my confused state, he elaborated, "so you can defend yourself if needed." I made an 'oh' sound, nodded, and waved goodbye. Walking to my room I pondered on the thought of the Hulk copies, but soon my mind was drifting towards the original Hulk.

_He's so different. Weird, actually._ I thought as I opened the door to my room and stepped in, "but I'm weirder." I said aloud to the room. I change into my pajamas, put on a CD of Linkin Park, and soon found myself being lulled into sleep.

**Please review if you like and constructive criticism is always welcomed. **


	5. Clumsily

**Chapter 5 of Change. **

I awoke the next morning to the song Somewhere I Belong. Rolling over to look at the bedside table I found the small digital clock sitting there.

_8;15. _I read._ I wish I had slept later._ There was a knock on the door making me groan. I threw off my covers, sat up, and heard my back crack. I sighed in relief. Jumping up I tripped on my covers and fell flat on my face.

"OW!" I moaned as I rubbed my nose. Getting up as quickly as I could I made my way towards the door and opened it. Standing there and looking at me worriedly was Hawkeye.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he looked me over.

"Yeah, just a little clumsily in the morning." I told him waving my hand. He nodded slowly and then raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"Linkin Park, really?" He asked looking at the tank top and pajama shorts I was wearing. I gasped and put a hand on my heart.

"Yes!" I said smiling, "Linkin Park is the best!" He made a tsk sound.

"No way AC/DC is so much better!" He said. I laughed and shook my head.

"Whatever. What is it you needed me for?" I asked. He seemed to remember what it was he was here.

"Oh. Training." He said waving his hands in the air. I nodded.

"Let me just get change." I said turning back into my room and walking over to my bag. I took out my clothes and stepped into the bathroom. Putting on a pair of black yoga pants, red tank top, and a pair of black sneakers and once I was done I walked out of the bathroom, "okay, I'm ready." Hawkeye looked up from where he was standing.

"Good! Let's go get some grub." Falling into step with Hawkeye, we made our way towards the cafeteria. It wasn't long before I smelled the sweet aroma of French toast. Hawkeye laughed. I turned my head and looked at him.

"What?" I asked.

"You're drooling."

"Haha." Getting a tray, I got my food, and found the table where Hawkeye was sitting with also Black Widow.

_Man she's quick! _Setting down my tray Hawkeye whistled.

"That's a lot of food for a small girl like you." Hawkeye said laughing. I pouted, but smiled.

"I eat a lot." I said smiling sheepishly.

"That's good. Need to keep up your energy." Hawkeye told me as he stole the apple on my tray and bit into it.

"Hey!"

"How did you sleep Rachel?" Black Widow asked.

"Great I fell asleep to Linkin Park." I replied. When I saw her confused face I shook my head, "never mind."

"She doesn't get out too often." Hawkeye whispered which he then received a slap on the head in return. I laughed.

"Don't worry. I don't get out too often too. Maybe we could go out sometime" I said smiling at her softly. She smiled and nodded.

"That would be great." She said.

"Great!" I mimicked then finished my meal quickly, "okay I'm ready when you are." I told Hawkeye. He nodded, stood up, and gave a two finger salute to Black Widow.

"See you later Natasha." He said waving over his shoulder. I waved goodbye and followed Hawkeye.

"So what are we doing today?" I asked looking up at Hawkeye. Hawkeye glanced down at me and smirked.

"Hand to hand combat." He said snickering, I smiled and glanced ahead of me.

"Good. I get to kick your ass." I told him as I continued walking.

"Wha…" He mumbled. Jogging to catch up to me he entered the pass code into the system and the door whooshed opened to reveal a gym. It was a nice gym equipped with everything a person would need for a great workout, "okay let's get to it." He said walking over to the boxing ring. I stepped into it after him and got into a stance, "ready?"

"Yup." I said making the 'p' pop.

"Good." He said. He then lunged at me with a punch. I quickly sidestepped it and threw a right hook, but he blocked it easily by grabbing my arm. Taking my left leg I kick it up and did a feint at his shoulder then kick him in the ribs. He let out a moan and dropped my arm. I, again, tried to throw a punch at his face but he caught it easily. Jumping up over his arm that was holding my hand I twisted his arm and held it behind his back. I was about to say 'I win' when he did a back flip over me and twisted my arm behind my back.

"I win." He said. I could hear the smirk in his voice. He released my arm and I rubbed it gently.

"You stink." I said pouting. He laughed.

"No. I'm just good." He told me. Suddenly, we heard the sound of clapping. We looked over to see Nick Fury standing we the rest of the Avengers.

"Great job, Rachel." Fury said looking as stern as ever.

"Thank you." I replied feeling a confidence boost by being praise by the one and only Nick Fury.

"You did very good for your first time. Have you had training in the past." He asked. I nodded.

"I did martial arts for many years and gymnastics."

"Good that will come in handy. Well keep up the good work." He said leaving the room. Once he left the room admittedly Tony was on me.

"You. Are. Amazing!" He said looking at me with wide eyes.

"What?" I asked feeling confused.

"Nick Fury just complimented you. He doesn't do that very often." Tony told me.

"Oh."

"Or maybe he just doesn't compliment you Tony." Black Widow, but I now know her first name as Natasha, said smirking. Tony pouted.

"Oh be quiet." He said looking like a hurt puppy. I laughed.

"Oh don't worry Tony I'll let you in on a little secret. I love the Iron Man suit." I whispered in his ear. When I said this he must have had a boost in his ego because he puffed out his chest and stood taller.

"Sometime I'll let you help me out on it." He said smiling. I smiled.

"That would be nice." I replied, "now Hawk…"

"Clint Barton." He filled in. I nodded.

"Clint, what's next?" I asked looking around the room. Clint pointed at Natasha and smiled.

"Shooting." I smiled and pumped my fist into the air.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. Natasha raised an eyebrow at me, "I've always been good with a gun."

"Oh really?" She asked. I nodded.

"Paintball only though so I don't know if it the same."

"Somewhat." She said walking towards the door. I jumped out of the ring and followed her passing Bruce and Thor on the way. I waved and smiled, but not watching where I was going I tripped on the mat underneath all machines. I let out a squeal of terror as I fell and hit the ground.

"Rachel!" I heard my name being shouted by all the Avengers. I sat up slowly and found my self looking into these beautiful brown eyes again.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked as he looked me over. I laughed.

"Yeah. Just a little clumsily and tired. I haven't worked out in so long my body isn't used to it." I said rubbing my aching knee which I had hit on the ground.

"Maybe we should hold off on the shooting for a little while." Natasha suggested. I shook my head and stood up.

"No I'm fine." When I saw their worried faces I laughed, "really I'm fine!" They nodded.

"Just make sure to take it slow Rachel." Bruce said looking at me sternly.

"Yes father." I said over my shoulder as I followed Natasha out of the room.

**Please review and constructive criticism is always welcomed, so I can become a better writer. **


	6. Death

**Chapter 6 of Change. **

It seemed forever, but finally I finished shooting with Natasha.

"Good job Rachel you're good at shooting, but you need to work on your aim." Natasha told me as we walked out of the shooting room. I nodded tiredly and let out a yawn, "I think it's time for you take a nap."

"Yes, I think you're right." I said, yawning yet again. Natasha walked me to my door and was about to go when I stopped her.

"Oh Natasha, I mean Black Widow. What are the names of the team, so I can call them correctly by their real names…if that's alright?" I asked looking at her. She smiled.

"My names Natasha Romanoff, Hawkeye is Clint Barton, you know Bruce Banner is the Hulk, Thor is Thor, Tony Stark is the Ironman, and Captain America is Steve Rodgers." She told me. I nodded taking in the information.

"Thank you!" I said happily as I entered my room.

"No problem." She said as she walked off. I watched her go, but then turned and shut my door. Stripping off my sweaty clothes, I headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. Once I was in the heavenly confines of the hot water, I began to relax. My life was beginning to drastically change and I couldn't stop it, but I didn't want to stop it. It was so nice to be around people who knew my secret and could help me; especially Bruce. Bruce. He was so different from the men I had been around up till now. I mean all the men here were so different. Tony was energetic and a playboy, but he was still kind too me. Steve was from another age and a gentlemen inside and out. Thor was from another planet entirely, I didn't know him that well, but I knew he treated ladies with respect. Clint was already like an older brother to me. I knew he would watch over me no matter what, but Bruce was different from any of them. He was nice to me and understood what I was going through. He understood the pain of not being able to control yourself. It was like a suffocating everyday living with the fear that you could kill the people you loved any minute, so you would distanced yourself. Always hiding away, lonely, in the dark, and waiting to be saved, but knowing you'll never be saved. I didn't know I was crying until I let out a strangled sob. I dropped to my knees and curled myself into a tight ball and cried until I couldn't anymore. After I was done I stepped out of the shower and got on my pajamas. Climbing into bed, I grabbed my teddy bear Captain Bob.

"I wish I could just be saved." I whispered to the bear just as sleep overtook me. When I awoke it was four o'clock in the afternoon. Getting up, I stretched, and changed into a pair of red skinny jeans, a black T shirt with a red dinosaur on it, and pair of red converse. Walking into the bathroom, I looked into the mirror, and grabbed my lipstick. It was my signature thing; red lipstick. I always wore it. I don't know why, but I like the colors red and black. Moving out into the hallways of the helicarrier, I made my way to the cafeteria. Once there, I found all the Avengers sitting at a table in the corner with a couple other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. I felt awkward and just decided to get my food. I was about to leave and go back to my room to eat my food when I heard my name being called.

"Rachel!" Tony's voice rang out through the cafeteria and came to ring in my ears. I turned with my tray and look at the table. They were all smiling at me and waving for me to come over. I was about to decline, but before I could Tony spoke again, "don't even think about it!" I smiled and made my way over to the table.

"You really are a pusher Tony." I told the man as I reach the table and set my tray down. Everyone laughed. Tony pouted, but smiled.

"You already know me too well." He said shocked while holding a hand over his heart.

"Yes unfortunately." I teased. He pouted more, but motioned for me to take a seat. I did as he said and took the seat.

"Wow that's a lot of food!" One of the agents, a blonde man with blue eyes, said. I blushed and Clint laughed.

"She's an eater, isn't she?" He said laughing. I huffed and began to eat my meal.

"Well that's good isn't it, every man loves a woman who can eat." The blonde said winking at me. I blushed again and looked at my tray smiling, "well my names Andrew Williams, it's nice to meet you Rachel." I looked up and stared at him.

"How do you know me?" I asked. The guy sitting next to him laughed and answered.

"Everyone knows about you, lassie." He said in a thick Scottish accent. I awkwardly nodded my head and turned to looked at Natasha. She noticed me and nodded sympathetically.

"News travels fast here." She told me.

"Oh." I said continuing with my meal.

"So Rachel, how are you adjusting here?" A brunette asked looking at me. She was beautiful indeed and I couldn't help but stare.

"Um well, I guess?" I replied hesitantly. Clint scoffed.

"Well you guess. She's doing amazing." He said smiling at me. I smiled and laughed.

"I guess you can say that because I almost kicked your ass." I said smirking. He spit out the water he was drinking and wiped his mouth.

"What! No way, you were nowhere close!" I smiled and waved my finger at him.

"You say that, but I did well."

"Yes Clint, son of Barton, you almost lost!" Thor exclaimed in his booming voice. Clint opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and said nothing.

"Rachel, I did the test on your blood, the results came back, and they were very interesting." Bruce said injecting himself into the conversation, but in a way that was very respectful.

"How were they interesting?" I asked taking a bite of my lasagna. Bruce seemed to get excited as I asked about them.

"Your blood cells can regenerate! Have you ever gotten sick after the accident?" He asked, searching my eyes.

"No, not after the accident." I told him which he then nodded in understanding.

"I figured, so your life expectancy is unpredictable…" He slowly spoke. My eyes widen and I pushed away from the table. I felt sick.

_I was never going to die. I was always going to be alone. _

"I need to go!" I said. Quickly running out of the cafeteria, I made my way back to my room. Once in my room, I slid to the ground in a heap. My body heaved as I sob, I felt like I was going to be sick. Moving to the bathroom, the lunch I had just eaten was suddenly thrown up into the awaiting toilet.

"Rachel?" Bruce's voice interrupted my being sick. I wiped my mouth, stood up, and stumbled my way to the door. Opening the door, I was greeted to the sight of Bruce looking at me worriedly.

"Yes?" I asked smiling. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened more as I said this.

"Are you okay?" He asked staring down at me.

"Yes, why do you ask?" I told him smiling and turning around to straighten up my room. He followed me into the room and the door whooshed behind him.

"Stop lying." He replied. I stopped cleaning and held a shirt close to my body. My hands were shaking and I could feel a cold sweat break out across my forehead.

"What do you mean?" I asked turning around to look at him. My voice was raspy and choked.

"You're lying, anyone who just figure out that they might be living forever would not okay." I sucked in a shaky breath and felt tears welling in my eyes.

"I'm okay…" I said hesitantly as if trying to prove to myself. I let out a sob and wrapped my arms around my body trying to hold myself together.

"Rachel." My name was whispered from his lips and made me feel warm. I looked up at him with tears streaming down my face.

"I'm always going to be alone. I'll watch as everyone around me dies and I'll be left alone, until I make new friends and then I'll watch them die too!" I exclaimed in one breath. Bruce's face held sympathy for me

"I know how you feel and so does Thor and Steve." Bruce said quietly. My head jerked up to look at him.

"What?"

"I know how you feel. My death expectancy is unknown too. I don't know when I'll die." He said taking a seat on the bed, "and Thor and Steve are the same too. Thor is a god and well Steve is hype up on drugs." I laughed at this and took a seat on the bed next to Bruce. I wiped my tears and laughed.

"So, I'll have you guys with me?" I asked looking up at Bruce. He smiled and patted my hands.

"Yes." He answered quietly. I smiled, stood, and pulled him up with me.

"Let's go get some coffee and sweets!" I said excitedly while bouncing on the balls of my feet. He laughed and followed me out the door.

"What a kid." Bruce said as I pulled him along. I gasped, turned, and hit him on the head.

"Am not!"

**Reviews! Please review and constructive criticism is always welcomed. Thank you! **


	7. Secret

**Chapter 7 of Change.**

Days passed by quickly with Bruce and I working together to find some sort of cure. Working with him was comforting and I enjoy it. Even though I really couldn't call it working when all I did was hand him stuff or make sure he had food. One day in his lab, I was sitting on the lab table swinging my legs while Bruce worked.

"Really, Rachel, I thank you for the help and could you hand me the pointy thing with wires, please." Bruce said. I laughed and handed him the tool.

"You're welcome, but I don't see how I'm helping you." I said while I switched tools with him.

"Trust me, this speeds up the process and I enjoy your company." He told me as he glanced up at me. I blushed and looked around the room for anything other than those beautiful brown eyes.

"So where did you live before you came here, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked as I watched his long fingers fiddled with whatever it was under the microscope. Over the course of time I had learned he loved reading, swimming, writing, working on science projects, and Indian food. He hated Chinese food, which I couldn't even begin to understand, politics, war, and homophobia. I was really glad when I heard he hated homophobia because my sister was a lesbian and I believe strongly in gay rights. Also, I was bisexual.

"Calcutta." He said.

"You mean Calcutta, India?" I asked not really knowing the answer. I mean it couldn't be India, could it? That was one of the most stressful places on the earth, but that would explain the Indian food.

"Yes." He said looking up at me, "why?"

"You picked one of the most stressful places on earth to live. Why?"

"The trick isn't about avoiding stress." He said standing up and taking off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes and let out a breath. He seemed tired.

"Then what is it?" He peeked out from behind his hands to look at me. He smiled.

"That's for another time." He said moving to collect his samples of what he was working on. I pouted, but did not say anymore. He was tired, I could tell.

"Why don't you go to bed?" I said hopping off the table.

"No, there's still so much to work on." He said and continued to mumble about all the stuff he had to do.

"Bruce, you won't be able to work to your full ability if you're tired." I told him as I gently took the samples out of his hands and set them down in the refrigerator.

"But…" He was about to say more when I put a finger to his lips.

"Rest. It will all still be here when you wake up tomorrow morning." I glanced at the clock to see that it was one o'clock in the morning, "I mean today." I smiled and glanced up at him to find him staring at me, "what?"

"You take such great care of me. Thank you." He leaned down, kissed my cheek, and then turned to walked out of the lab. I watched him go as I held my cheek. Blushing, I quickly cleaned up the place and then went back to my room. Once there I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. That day I woke up feeling like crap. My body was sore and my eyes were puffy. I looked a mess. Hoping a shower would change the way I looked and felt, I took a quick one. It did nothing. Getting change into a pair of purple skinny jeans, a shirt with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it, and my purple converse and to complete my look I added a yarn hat that was Donatello from the same show. Looking in the mirror I added the signature red lipstick. When I found the Avengers they were all in the lab acting like regular people. Actually, they were even wearing regular clothes. Even Thor.

"So…what's up?" I asked as I walked in. I would like to think that once I walked into the room Bruce suddenly got a twinkle in his eyes, but I think that was just my imagination again. Clint smirked, walked over to me, and put his arm around me.

"It's your lucky day!" He said happily while he hugged me closer. I took his arm and removed it from my shoulder.

"Oh really?" I replied.

"Yup!" He said making the 'p' pop, "you get to get off this flying hellcarrier." Instead of saying helicarrier he said hell which would of made me laugh, but at the moment I was to shocked. My eyes lit up and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"Really?" I asked looking at Natasha to see if he was telling the truth. She nodded and smiled.

"Yeah. Were moving you." She said. I let out a squeal of happiness and jumped up clicking my heels. Everyone laugh at my excitement.

"Yes, you're going to the Avengers Tower." Tony told me after I finished my little dance, "so pack and then we'll all be off."

"Avengers Tower?" I looked at them confused. They nodded.

"Yeah it was Stark Tower until Loki decided it needed a remodeling. Asshole!" Tony whispered the last part under his breath. I laughed.

"Well I'll go pack!" I told them as I ran out of the room and back to mine. Throwing things into my suitcase quickly, I finished packing in under fifteen minutes. When I got back to the lab the only one there was Bruce.

"Where is everyone?" I asked looking around the room.

"They went to pack." He replied not looking up from what he was working on.

"You didn't."

"I don't have that much." He looked up and smiled. His smiles were soft and tender.

"Oh." I looked around the lab in mild curiosity. I then walked over to the lab table and hopped onto it. Swinging my legs back and forth I watched as he worked, "so, what is your secret?" He looked up from his experiment.

"It's a secret for a reason." He said smirking. I pouted.

"Come on, tell me." I whined. He laughed and stood to his full height which was not that tall, but taller than me. He took off his glasses and set them down. Turning towards me, he leaned over me, and smirked down at me.

"It's. A. Secret." He whispered each word into my ear making shivers run down my back. I blushed and thought of the position we were in. I was holding onto the front of his shirt, so I wouldn't fall back onto the table and he was leaning over me with his mouth just above my ear. I cleared my throat and moved out from underneath him.

"Well we should be going." I said hopping off the table.

"Yes." He replied. He put away his samples and work then took my suitcase.

"Wha…"

"I'll carry your suitcase." He said.

"But."

"No buts." He sternly scolded me. I did as he said and followed him out of the room with a smiled on my face.

**Please review!**


	8. Suicidal Swimming

**Chapter 8 of Change. **

The ride to the tower was quick even though we were coming from a distance. When we arrived at the tower I couldn't help but marvel at the sight.

"This is your home?" I asked looking at Tony. He nodded.

"Cool, isn't it?" He asked me. I nodded dumbly.

"Very cool." I replied.

"Well I'll have Bruce here give you a tour since he pretty much lives here." Tony said as he disappeared. Everyone else followed his lead and disappeared too. Bruce and I were left alone. He awkwardly coughed and waved his hand in front of him.

"Ladies first." He said politely making me smile and laugh.

"Why thank you!" I said in a British accent and curtsying. He laughed and followed me as I moved room to room. Each room got more exciting and interesting as we moved through them. There was a workout room, a swimming pool, a training room, and many rooms for guests which meant the Avengers and me. There was so much more I could say, but I was finding myself having a hard time grasping that I was going to be living here. Bruce showed me his lab which almost looked identical to the last one with some changes here and there, but the best room was the last room he took me to. It was on the top floor and there was windows overlooking the city. It was somewhat like a loft meant for people to take time to relax.

"This is where we hang out. If we have the time and we're all here." Bruce told me. I nodded in understanding.

"You guys are so busy I can understand wanting to relax. You guys probably have the toughest jobs in the world."

"I don't think so." Bruce said looking down at me. I tilted my head and he elaborated, "there's people in the world who are heroes without having special abilities or powers and die trying to save others. They have the toughest jobs. We just save people when they cannot save themselves from something bigger than they are." I couldn't help, but feel my heart beat inside my chest rapidly. I quickly took a breath to calm myself down.

_This man is so unselfish and humble. It was intoxicating. I had been around men all my life who were self absorbed and dirty bastards. Yet this one man was anything but. _

"Rachel?" I blinked and snapped out of my thoughts.

"I see what you mean. Do you know Bruce that you're so kind?" I told him as I looked up at him with my blue eyes.

"I don't know about that." He said scratching his head. I laughed.

"Humble too." He blushed. I couldn't help, but find him so cute. Blinking, I quickly changed my thoughts.

"Well what should we do?" Just as I said this, Tony walked in wearing a Speedo. I blushed and covered my eyes. I laughed, "Tony what are you wearing!?"

"My darling, I'm wearing a swimsuit." He said right in my ear making me jump. With my eye still covered I asked.

"Where's the rest of it?" He laughed.

"We're going swimming!" He announced happily. I finally uncovered my eyes to see that all the Avengers were wearing swimsuits except Bruce and I. Everyone looked smoking hot and I couldn't help, but drool over Natasha. She was my friend, but man was she hot in that black one piece. Most women now and days wore bikinis so it was refreshing to see a one piece. Just as I finished drooling I remembered I didn't have a swimsuit because it was December.

"I don't have a swimsuit." I told Tony. He smiled.

"You can borrow one of Pepper's." He said gesturing to the room that was off to the right, "just go into the walk in closet and grabbed one." I nodded dumbly, moved over to the room, and entered. It was probably Tony and Pepper's room. Walking into the walk in closet was a first to me because I've never had one. There was many suits, ties, dresses, blouses, shoes, everything you could think of. I smiled. When I found the swimsuit's they were all colors I didn't like and just when I was thinking I was going to have to wear a hideous blue. I found a beautiful one. It was a black bikini with red roses on it. I loved it from the moment I saw it. Walking out into the loft I found everyone waiting.

"That one?" Tony asked looking at it. I nodded, "you can have it. Pepper hates roses. I got it for thinking she would like it, but she's never worn it. I got her another deep blue one and she wears it all the time."

"Are you sure?" I asked hoping in my mind it would be a yes.

"Yeah go ahead. Now you get ready and meet us down at the pool." Tony said as he walked out with the rest of the Avengers. I smiled and hugged the swimsuit closer to me. Finding my room, which had lots of browns for the color scheme, I change into the swimsuit. It fit me perfectly and looked great on me. I loved roses. I put on my red lipstick, but toke off my eye makeup. Looking in the mirror there was something missing to complete the look. Adding a black scarf and a pair of black wedges, I walked down to the pool. Everyone was swimming and the skylight windows were see-through now so the sun shone through them. Leaning over to take off my shoes, I heard a cat whistle.

"You're looking good, Rachel!" Clint's voice came to ring in my ears. I blushed and decided that it would be better to sit down and take off my shoes. When I heard a chair pull up next to me, I looked up to see Tony smiling at me. It was a big shit-eating grin and I bet it was hurting his face.

"Yes?" I asked removing my left shoe first then my right.

"So, any guys barking up your tree?" He asked bluntly. I rolled my eyes.

"I thought you had a girlfriend and no, no dogs."

"I'm not asking for me I'm asking for Bruce." When he said this, I blushed and my heart started to beat rapidly.

"W-h-h-y B-B-Bruce?" I stuttered.

"I want Bruce to get back out into the world, you know, live in it." Tony said waving his hands. I nodded slowly.

"But what does that have to do with me?" Tony gave me a look.

"I know how you two have been getting to know each other." Tony smirked and said in an annoying voice.

"Oh, yeah?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"I know how you feel for Bruce. I'm good at things like this." Tony told me.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, you should listen to me when I say listen to your feelings." I stared at him, but shook my head.

"How about we swim Tony?" I told Tony quietly.

"Yeah, swimming, let's do that." He said jumping up. His crotch was in my face for a second, but I quickly turned my head away. Standing up, I followed Tony to the pool, and dove into the sweet abyss. It was silent while I stayed under the water. I opened my eyes and swam deeper into the pool. Even as my lungs were burning, I continued to swim deeper. My eyes were clouded with black spots just as I heard a loud splash in the pool. I felt my body being pulled closed to a warmer body just as I blacked out. The sweet abyss that I would never get to live in was so close, yet so far away. I coughed violently and sat up hacking. My lungs and throat burned with chlorine.

"Rachel!" Bruce's voice rang in my ears making me flinch. I looked up to see all the Avengers around me with worried faces.

"Yes!" I choked.

"What were you doing!?" Natasha screamed at me. I flinched.

"Swimming." I said smiling sheepishly while shrugging.

"Suicidal swimming!" Clint shouted at me. I stood, wobbled over to my chair, and grabbed my towel.

"It's nothing!" I told them as I dried off.

"I don't think it's nothing!" Clint told me. I glared at him then stalked off leaving them by the pool. I made my way back to room quickly making sure my hair didn't drip as much as possible. Once there I collapsed on my bed and started to cry.

"I can't take this anymore!" I sobbed into my pillow. My sobs echoed around the room making me not want to cry. Slowly, I stopped crying, and settled down, "I can't take this anymore."

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